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Red Sox Place Jon Lester on Disabled List

The Red Sox have placed starting pitcher Jon Lester on the 15-day disabled list after he left Tuesday’s start against the Blue Jays with a lower lat strain. The left-hander threw four no-hit innings before being pulled.

He had an MRI on Wednesday afternoon, but the decision was made to put him on the DL before those results came out because the team felt certain the injury was at least a strain.

ESPNBoston.com, citing sources, said Lester could miss anywhere between two and four weeks. He will be eligible to return to the team in July 22. Lester is 10-4 with a 3.31 ERA this season as one of Boston’s top starting pitchers. He is seventh in the American League with 100 strikeouts on the season.

Boston is 50-35 on the season, but sits at negative-..65 betting units because of sky-high expectations. With Lester going down, the team’s odds of winning will do down when there is a fill in for him, although the team’s potent offense could still make Boston the favorite in many of those games.

Boston is dealing with a barrage of injuries in addition to Lester, asClay Buchholz’s back and Adrian Gonzalez’s neck are both being bothersome, and Carl Crawford remains on the disabled list with a hamstring injury. Despite these worries, Boston is second in theAmerican League East and one of only two teams in the AL with 50 victories, along with the Yankees.

The team looks in good shape, and while specific injuries will shape the odds on a day-to-day basis, the Red Sox are always a safe choice inMLB baseball betting.